Summer Boy
by DeathByPhantoms
Summary: The story of summer. The friends you make and never forget. The places you go and things you see. The beach parties with drunken singers, chorusing the Abba soundtrack. But most of all the idea that it's not about the time you spend together, but what get's you through the time when you're apart. Mostly (SoraxRiku), features (TidusxKairi).
1. Chapter 1

**Tuesday, 12:00 – Holiday Villa **

The fan buzzed, gushing out a cool comfortable breeze, which Sora tried to capture by pushing his face up against the metal white cage, which surrounded a plastic propeller. Sora was hunched over a table, clutching said fan, and moaning about the scorching heat. The gust whizzed as it passed through the metal cage and Sora's hair flailed with the force from the twirling propellers. He felt like giving up. He felt as if his hope and dreams had left him, leaving him no reason to live. He wanted to pry open the metal cage and use its plastic rotating blade as a means to decapitate himself.

His dreams of the perfect summer began to shatter and slowly crash into the ground, like an expensive vase in a Looney Tones cartoon. Sora thought about what his friends were doing at this very moment without him. He then remembered the look of shock and utter disappointment on their faces, when he announced that his mother was taking him to some backwards island for the summer. Sora sighed and lifted his head from the fan to stare out the window at the baking sun. He squinted then replanted his head on the fan again.

"I have to go now. I'll be back later tonight", his mother announced as she packed a bag with various archeological instruments. She pulled out a letter and skimmed through it. She gazed over at Sora with a concerned look. "I'm sorry we haven't spent much time together. I promised you a fun holiday and I've just been working the entire time". Sora lifted his head up from the fan.

"It's fine", he said in a very low tone. He wasn't looking at his mother. Instead he glared at a fly buzzing nearby.

"Why don't you go look around?" she suggested cheerfully.

"It's too hot", he murmured. Sora's mother zipped up the bag and wrapped her arms around her son. His spiky hair pressed against her stomach.

"See you later", she chirped as she reached down to collect her bag. Sora sighed in response, but by this time his mother was already out the door. Once the door shut, Sora lay back down with his best friend, the fan, and continued to complain about the scorching heat.

**Tuesday 14:00 – Holiday Villa**

After two hours with his new friend, the fan, Sora decided to take his mother's advice and leave their small villa in search for something to do. He thought that if he looked hard enough he'd find a shop that sold ice-cream, because his small villa didn't even have a freezer. He searched his room for any trace of his wallet. That thing had a desire to play hide and seek whenever Sora required it. He found it lodged down the side of his bed, along with a crumpled up magazine and a battery belonging to his Gameboy which was left carefully on his bedside table. Sora was only organized with things he genuinely cared about. His homework was always rushed and most times incomplete, while he would spend hours organizing his games into genres. Action. Adventure. Mystery. Sports. Sports? Sora liked to exercise. Hell his wardrobe at home was full of skateboards, rollerblades anything to keep the teen busy on days off. But sports. Sora hated the idea of running around on a field, with a million others, trying to get a round object and hit it somewhere it was meant to go. He hated being competitive and taking orders from someone with hair running out of every crevice in his body. Sora shuddered and opened his wallet to investigate it's interior. Ok. Sora wasn't the richest kid in the world and his wallet may have contained a few coins and a bus pass, but he had enough to buy himself some ice-cream , if only he could find his flip-flops. After Sora had gathered everything he'd need for his trip, he locked the front door and glared up at the baking sunshine.

"Maybe I should wear sunscreen in case I burn?" Sora pondered. But the door was already locked and he was too lazy to rummage through his pocket for the key. So he continued on his way, stopping at the front gate to remember which way led to the town. He began walking down the dirt road into the jungle of palm trees and exotic plants. Sora sighed in relief as the trees protected him from the sun's deadly ray and allowed him to cool off. The wind whistled through the tops of the palm trees and plants shook with the breeze. Sora's flip-flops crunched on the rough terrain of the dirt road and he praised himself for deciding not to go barefoot.

He arrived into the town which was located on one of the largest beaches on the island. Sora began wiping the beads of sweat from his forehead as he exited the cool shaded jungle. The air was humid and Sora found it hard to breath at times. Sora looked around. The island seemed to mostly consist of elderly people. One of the only things he looked forward to about going to this island was the possibility of meeting someone. Not just anyone. Someone who would stay in his memory forever. Someone who would make this trip one to look back on with fondness and –

"Ouch!" Sora was knocked to the ground. Confused and a little dizzy, he began rubbing the back of his head. He quickly checked his hand. "No blood" Sora sighed in relief. He hated blood.

"Ugh watch out?" A voice echoed from a far.

"What do you mean watch out? Go apologize!" Another voice yelled. Sora's face went red with embarrassment when he sat up. He hated being the centre of attention and well everyone on the entire island was glaring at him. Ok not everyone but A LOT of people.

"Hey! Man I'm sorry about that," the voice echoed again. Only this time coming closer to Sora. In situations like this Sora doesn't think and so he blurted out.

"I'm sorry for being here"

"What?" the voice asked now standing directly over Sora. "You don't have a concussion do you?"

"Ehh"

"Sorry about that," the young blonde apologized. "Seems I kick harder than I thought"

"Um.. It's ok" Sora squeaked. He was still red with embarrassment. The young blonde kicked the beach ball, lying next to Sora, into his hands. There was a long pause while Sora gazed at the young teen, bouncing the ball on the grass.

"Eh.. I'm Tidus," the teen said awkwardly to break the silence. "Sorry again"

"Oh! I-I'm Sora,"

"Hey man! Um do you wanna play volley ball with us?" Tidus asked politely pointing towards a net and a girl sitting down on the sand, observing every move they made.

"Uh.. um" Sora couldn't think of an excuse. He hated sports and he was already dying in the heat, the last thing he needed was to exercise "Sure!" Sora responded. He never was a good liar.

"Awesome!" the young blonde hopped with glee. Like a seven year old kid going to Disneyland. He smiled and grabbed Sora's hand. Sora's heart jumped out of his body went the whole way around the world and landed back in place. He let out a sound which sounded like someone had just grabbed his crotch. Tidus pulled a flabbergasted Sora to his feet and grabbed his forearm and dragged him across the green to the volleyball net.

"Kairi this is So..fa?"

"Sora!" he yelled quite too loudly. Sora was still panting from the surprise heart attack earlier.

"Hello Sora. Nice to meet you" Kairi greeted. With a gorgeous smile on her face. She brushed some red hair from her eyes and turned to Tidus "Be careful next time ok?"

"He's fine! Now can we play! The score was five to one," Tidus announced enthusiastically.

"Wait! How do we play with three people?" Kairi enquired.

"Hmm you get So..f..? Spiky!" Tidus ordered. Twirling the volleyball on his finger and stopping it against his shoulder.

"Spiky?" Sora questioned

"Yeah your hair man! It's cool but damn you must run out of gel fast!" Tidus said chuckling.

"Let's just leave it for today" Kairi declared

"Yes! So I win!" Tidus cheered, throwing the ball in the air, in solute "So now that I'm the winner I deserve a prize"

"Like what?"

"Hmm… I get to touch one of your-"

Before Tidus could finish his sentence, Kairi had slammed him in the chest. Tidus fell to the ground gasping for air. Sora jumped back in horror. He glared at the girl who had just winded the teen. She turned and smiled at him. Her smile hinted something of sweet and innocence mixed with terror and wickedness.

"Sora was it?" she asked

"Yes mam!" he responded with the terrified expression still implanted on his face.

"Mam? My name is Kairi. Where were you going before pervert here almost knocked you out?"

"Um.. well I was going to go find a place that sells ice cream"

"Perfect! Let's go" she said linking her arm around his. Causing Sora to have another mini heart attack. They stepped over the blonde teen still hyperventilating on the sandy beach. Sora looked over his shoulder to see if the blonde was still alive. Well hoping. Tidus jumped to his feet when he realized the other two had already left.

"Hey! Wait for me!" he called as he retrieved the beach ball from where it landed after his victory dance.

**Tuesday 15:00 – Café **

"So you're not from here?" Kairi questioned as they sat around outdoor tables with umbrellas through them, to shade the teens from the sun.

"I'm here with my mom for the summer. She does research into rocks and plants and stuff" Sora replied. Kairi looked awkward before asking;

"And you're dad?"

"He left when I was a child" Sora murmured, half looking at his ice cream, half at Kairi.

"Oh I see. I'm sorry" she responded, with a look of apology in her eyes.

"It's ok! What about you? Do you live here?" Sora asked.

"Sure do! My dad owns an Inn here and my mom is a tour guide. It's fun here but to be honest, I'd love to live in the city"

"It's not all it seems," Sora chuckled, licking his melting ice cream before it dripped down onto his clothes "I've lived there my whole life and I can say it's just loud and busy all the time"

"That's what I love though. The idea of big buildings, loud traffic, and all the things to do and see. Here all we do is play volleyball. I'd love to just get on the boat and leave this place," Kairi announced, looking off into the distance. She was totally oblivious to her surrounding and suddenly snapped out of her wishful idea "Sorry about that! Sometimes I go off on a rant"

"Sometimes? You mean all the time!" Tidus teased, with the volleyball perched on his lap while he licked his strawberry flavored ice-cream.

"Do you want another punch?" Kairi threatened.

"I'll be good," Tidus smiled as he crunched into the cone of his snack.

Sora missed being in the company of his peer group. Since he'd arrived on the island he had mostly dealt with elderly people and his mother. It was nice being with people who joked, played and talked just like he did. Sora glanced into Kairi's eyes then back to his ice-cream and repeated this until their eyes met and she smiled at him. His heart began to race like earlier and he could feel himself blushing.

"Oh shit," Sora groaned. As ice-cream dripped over his hand and onto his T-shirt. He wiped it against the table in the hope that the others would not notice.

"Sora? How would you like to go to a beach party tonight? It'll be a lot of fun and there's someone I want you to meet," Kairi proposed to the spiky haired teen.

"Um Ok! Where is it?" Sora answered cheerfully.

"He'll never find it!" Tidus advised the red haired girl sitting next to him.

"Ok well how about we meet at this café at nine thirty?" she suggested.

"Sounds good," Sora chirped.

Sora was ecstatic. Finally something he could look forward to. Of course there was one problem which arose in the form of a woman with a strong maternal instinct. His mother. Of course his mom would not let her 'innocent little boy' go out to a party with most likely alcohol, possibly drugs and even sex. So Sora had no choice but to do the responsible thing and tell his new friends that he would not be able to attend their gathering. YEAH RIGHT. Sora had already begun devising a plan about how he would sneak out that night.

"What do you think of silver hair?" Kairi suddenly queried Sora. Sora looked puzzled at first as to why he was just asked such a question. He thought that Kairi might be think of dying her hair that color in the future.

"Umm.. it's nice I guess but I like red hair better," Sora replied biting into the cone of his ice-cream. Tidus glared at Sora, while Kairi brushed some hair out of her eyes.

"I'll take that as a compliment," she chuckled and smiled again at Sora. Sora felt his heart race and his cheeks blush again. Tidus continued to gape at the spiky haired teen, until Kairi announced that she was leaving.

"I'll see you later tonight! So long!" Kairi stated as she grabbed her handbag from the back of the chair.

"Bye," Sora replied almost immediately. Kairi smiled and managed a simple gesture with her hand as she exited the café. She was closely followed by Tidus smiling bluntly at Sora and murmuring a dull 'later'. Sora sat in the shade of the umbrella and thought about his strange encounter with the two teens.

**Tuesday 21:00 – Holiday Villa**

"Sora?" his mom groaned as she dropped her bags at the front door. Her call was returned by a simple 'um' from somewhere down the hallway. "How was your day?" she pondered, as she skimmed through the messages on her phone.

"Fine," Sora replied dully. She flipped the phone closed and embedded it into her pocket again.

"Today was a disaster," she began as she crossed the hallway into the kitchen, her footsteps echoing on the tiled floor "that tour guide knows less about this island than I do"

Sora didn't respond as he was too distracted by the voices circling through his head. After Tidus and Kairi had left him in the shade of the umbrella, things began to hit him. Like the beach ball earlier today. It struck him when he least expected it. Kairi. Kairi. Kairi? It's all he could think about. Her smile gave him shivers down his spine. All he wanted was to run his hand through her hair and-

"Sora?" his mom interrupted his beautiful dream, and he could feel himself falling back into the sea of reality "Did you hear me?"

"Huh?" he replied bewilderedly.

"I asked if you were hungry?"

"Um.. not really"

"Alright! Well I'm going to cook something anyway"

"Mom?" Sora said nervously. He could even hear his voice crackling with the tension "I met some new friends today and they invited me out to a party or something" Well done Sora so much for sneaking out. You'll never get to go now.

"That's great!" she said gleefully. Sora gazed at the pleased expression that consumed her face "I'm glad that you made some friends!"

"So I can go?" he questioned. One eyebrow raised as he didn't exactly know if the question was required or not.

"Sora," his mother began "You're sixteen. Almost seventeen. It's your decision whether you want to go or not. I may not approve on what you decide but I can't stop you"

His mother was always very philosophical but at least she was a logical thinker. Sora always respected her for that. He was very close with his mother but kept a lot of personal things from her, which caused him to feel guilty at times as his mother opened up to him about everything. Sora had enough friends to talk to about his personal problems and they understood them more than any parent would. Telling his mother about puberty or mistakes under the influence of alcohol might have created an unwanted atmosphere between them. So he chose to keep many things about his life to himself, unless they were deemed vital.

"Enjoy yourself," she sing-songed as she pulled her son into another one of her embracing hugs. His spikes again digging her in the stomach and underneath her chin. But she didn't care. Once she had left Sora thanked himself for deciding to ask her, before rooting through his drawers for something acceptable to wear for the night. He guessed that most beach parties would require people to dress comfortably. So he hunted through his pile of Levi jeans and Anvil shirts. He dug out some red shorts and began hunting his room again for his crown necklace. Once he found his attire suitable for the event, he ensured that he had everything he would need for the night. Which included his cellphone and empty wallet.

As he gazed at his reflection in the mirror, he began to think about her again. She was all that filled his mind. He didn't understand why he felt this way, and he hardly even knew the girl. But something felt right. He couldn't exactly put his finger on it. He decided that after tonight he might have more of an idea what that thing was but for now he realized that he was running late and so, with a cheerful 'goodbye' to his mother, Sora found himself heading out the front door and down the dirt road to meet his new friends in town.

**Tuesday 19:25 – Café **

The air was humid and filled with heat from the long summer day. The moon was out and stars congregated in the sky, filling the black with creamy dots which formed different shapes depending on how the observer viewed them. The café was closed so Sora waited on a stone wall opposite the building. He could feel butterflies in his stomach and couldn't stop fidgeting with his metal necklace which bounced against his chest, as he walked.

"Sorry I'm late," someone called from behind the stone wall, which made Sora almost jump out of his skin. He was easily startled when out in public.

"It's ok," he replied once he caught his breath. He gazed up at Kairi. She looked even more ravishing than before. She reached up to brush a strand of hair from her eyes. The sound of her pink beaded bracelets sliding down her arm could be heard over the sound of the waves crashing against the beach a few meters away.

"Well let's go then," she announced as she leaped over the wall, opened her handbag and presented Sora with a mobile phone "In case we get separated?" she gestured towards the phone. He smiled, took the phone from her and began adding in his number. When it came to the name part he thought it would be funny to put in a semicolon and a closing bracket. He then looked it over and blushed, thinking it was too childish. So he erased it and handed the phone back to its owner.

"Alright then! It's just down here," Kairi directed as they began walking down towards the beach, where they had met earlier that day. It was silent at first but Kairi began making small-talk to break the tension between the two.

"What are you hoping to do after you graduate?" she pondered. Giving him a sweet little smile as they trudged through the sand.

"I'm not sure. Probably go to college and get some boring job," he retorted, staring directly at the sand in front of him. A very serious tone in his voice and a stern expression on his face.

"Wow! Slow down!" Kairi teased "How can you think so bleakly about something like your future? I'm hoping to become a musician"

"You can sing?" Sora squeaked, with the look of utter surprise painted across his face.

"I'm not very good though. I've tried writing songs but I find it so hard to get inspiration. I'm working on one at the moment, but it's nowhere near finished"

"Let me know when it's finished. I'd love to hear it!" Sora replied with a goofy smile on his face.

**Tuesday 21:45 – West beach**

"I can see the smoke from behind those rocks. We're almost there," Kairi proclaimed as they climbed over a rotting wooden fence.

"That's good," Sora retorted, trying not to fall head first into a patch of tall grass. They climbed down the dunes onto the beach and could hear the sound of laughter and music mixed with the waves gushing onto the shore.

"I'm glad you decided to come Sora," Kairi blurted out as they were almost at the rocks. Sora's heart began to race worse than ever. He decided that if he was going to do anything it should be now. He felt the time was right he just had to lean over a kiss her. That's right it was easy, and they both wanted it to happen. Come on Sora do it! When he snapped out of his train of thought Kairi was already on the other side of the rocks and wondering where the spiky haired teen had disappeared to. He jumped over the rocks and landed next to her in a very non-shallot pose. He smiled at her in a way which could be read as I didn't just get hard thinking about sticking my tongue down your throat.

He felt his heart race again as she smiled and pinned him with those crystal blue eyes of hers. He couldn't control any of the urges that he was feeling. Before he knew it he was about to raise his hand up to brush the one strand of hair from her eyes.

"Kairi!" Tidus yelled, as a blonde teen trudged through the sand to launch on the red haired girl. She opened her arms and planted a kiss on his lips. Wait. A kiss? Kairi turned to Sora still in the arms of this thing and said;

"Come on Sora I want you to meet the rest of our friends"

Sora suddenly felt ill, like he was going to vomit right there and then. His heart was broken into a million pieces and what was worst of all is that he couldn't show it.

"Great!" he responded cheerfully and he was guided to a campfire by the couple holding hands and whispering to each other. Sora wanted to run away and forget this ever happened. He felt stupid and vulnerable. He didn't hate Tidus nor did he envy him but he just wished he was somebody else at this point in time.

Kairi began greeting friends of hers and cuddling up to her boyfriend until she forgot about her new friends presence. She grabbed Sora by the wrist, which caused his heart to squeeze and tighten in his chest. Kairi flung the heartbroken into the back of a tall, muscular teen. At first he was confused, then he apologized until the older teen turned around and met Sora's gaze.

"Sora this is Riku," she stated patting the spiky haired brunette on the back. Sora couldn't speak after what had escalated in the few minutes prior to being thrown into the back of a stranger.

"Hi," the silver haired teen smiled "nice to meet you Sora"


	2. Chapter 2

_Hello everyone, this is my first message to you so I would like to thank you all for the follows and favorites. Things you probably want to know about this fanfics; I have capped the story at 12 chapters, I shall be updating them every so often but college work has limited me from doing so, curse you college assignments. I hope you enjoy the new chapter and please do not just favorite my fanfics, but comment as well and I am highly open to criticism so be as critical as you may wish. Bye for now!_

**Tuesday 22:00 – West Beach**

Sora sat alone staring at the campfire. He watched as it crackled and hissed and shot sparks onto the sand like mini red fireworks. The wind shifted and smoke began to blow in his face. Coughing and wheezing, he shifted on the log he was sitting at to get away from the smoke, but it seemed to follow him wherever he went. So instead he just scowled at the campfire and cursed it under his breath. Everyone was so distracted by some extremely tanned brunette playing a guitar to notice the extremely down and awkward Sora.

They were singing along to the acoustic version of Sum41's 'In Too Deep'. Sora remembered hearing the song in some cheesy movies when he was a kid. Someone from the log next to his began banging sticks together in an attempt to make a drum effect. Sora rested his elbow on his leg and propped his head up.

"It's seems like each time I'm with you I lose my mind because I'm bending over backwards to relate," the crowd sing-songed. Most of them completely off-key but Sora wasn't paying attention. He was still staring into the fire and trying to gather his thoughts. He realized how he had over reacted and how it wasn't that big of a deal. He would get over this whole irritating mistake. As his mother always said, 'you'll be better before your twice remarried'. She never was one to be optimistic about love, and who could blame her? Still Sora felt this gaping hole in his chest. Like he'd just lost something precious to him.

"Maybe we're just trying too hard when really it's closer than it is too far," the group continued to chant. Sora looked up and noticed some of the singers leaping up into dance "… Cause I'm in too deep and I'm trying to keep…" the group were now screaming the lyrics at the top of their lungs. Sora found this slightly amusing but again fell back into his world-weary thoughts. 'No one will ever love me,' he thought. Suddenly as he looked up, with the group still in mid-chorus, and found, standing over him, the silver haired teen from before.

"Cause I'm in too deep, and I'm trying to keep, up above in my head, instead of going under," the crowd chanted. All of them getting much more involved than required.

"Ughh…" Sora began. 'Oh Shit. His name? What was his name?' He began to panic as the silver haired man standing in front of him began to cock and eyebrow and look peculiarly at the spikey haired youth sitting on the log.

"Hi," Riku greeted, shifting his face to reveal a sweet grin.

"Um hello," Sora replied.

"I haven't seen you around before. Kairi told me you're from the city, right?" Riku questioned, sitting down, on the bark, next to Sora. His voice rang through the air and drowned out the thoughts in Sora's head.

"Yeah," Sora retorted in a dull monotone expression. He decided it would be best to try and forget about earlier and focus on enjoying himself, however that was easier said than done as he looked over to see Kairi nuzzling up to her boyfriend's neck. Sora frowned at the sight of the happy couple and instead turned his attention back to blazing fire, forgetting about the silver haired teen sitting next to him.

"Well I bet you'll like it here," Riku added when he realized that Sora had zoned out.

"I wouldn't be so sure," he replied, kicking the sand in front of his feet.

"Oh," Riku said, looking rather hurt and more upset than Sora seemed to be. There was another long silence, which was broken by the sound of Riku rising. He walked off without a word of 'see you around' or 'later man', which Sora found the highly bizarre. He later forgot about the encounter, as his mind began to drift back to the events earlier on that day.

**Tuesday 22:30 – West Beach**

As the night went on, Sora continued to sit on the log, which was now deemed to be his spot and was to be known as the loner log in future generations. The choir of drunken teenagers had begun singing Grease's 'Summer nights', which Sora found quiet irritating, as the last thing he wanted to hear was something about how John Travolta got laid during the summer of nineteen-seventy…six?

"Tell me more. Tell me more. But you don't gotta brag!" they yelled, more out of tune than ever before "tell me more. Tell me more"

"Cause he sounds like a drag!" one of the girls added.

Sora just wished for this horrific night to come to a fast conclusion. The more he tried to forget about Kairi, the more he thought about her. He glanced over at her a few times, and she seemed to be enjoying herself, wrapped securely in the arms of her lover. Thankfully the drunkard's attention was drawn away from singing and towards the food which one of the sober teens was dishing out. Sora contemplated getting some form of sustenance, seeing as he hadn't eaten since the ice-cream earlier that day. He decided to move from his bubble on the log. He began to sit up but was stopped by someone standing directly over him, with a burger wrapped neatly in tissue.

"Here before all the drunk ones eat them all," a girl of about his age announced while handing Sora the wrapped goods.

"Um thanks," Sora replied, with a pleased grin on his face. He grasped the burger and bit into it. Chewing manically, he began to smile and groaned in pleasure.

"It's delicious!" Sora chirped, gulfing down the rest of his food. The girl smiled.

"Some guys decided to set up a barbeque over there. Every party we have there's always plenty of beer but no food," she informed him as she infiltrated his bubble and sat down next to the full of smiles and happy groans. Sora finished off his meal and wiped his fingers clean on the napkin.

"Thanks umm.." he stumbled as he tried to think of a way to address the girl sitting next to him.

"Oh I'm Selphie!" she responded.

"I'm Sora,"

"Oh so you're the one that Tidus almost killed today!"

"What?" Sora asked, with a dumbfounded look written on his face.

"He was telling us about how you two met," she explained "I'm sorry but I found it kind of funny"

Selphie began to chuckle and Sora joined her infectious laughter. They sat and talked about each other. Sora discussed about his mother's work and Selphie talked about her older brother and other people at the party. Selphie began pointing out certain people and explaining 'the drama of the group', as she called it. She talked about how 'this boy' cheated on that girl and how 'that girl' is angry and not talking to 'this girl', who is friends with 'them girls', who's friend is 'the boys' sister. Selphie mostly rambled on, stopping every few seconds to wave at one of her friends or become distracted by another. She continued to sip different drinks as she gestured with her hands, for dramatic effect. Sora sat patiently and listened, he found the conversation quite dull, but he enjoyed the girl's company.

"And then there's Riku," Selphie blurted out after finishing her topic about her last boyfriend "he's not like the other guys here"

"What do you mean?" Sora asked, cocking an eyebrow and itching a spot on his arm. At this point Sora realized that Selphie was slightly drunk.

"Well he may look like a tough guy but he's actually-"

Selphie stopped abruptly when another friend of hers began hugging her from behind. She instantly became distracted and began talking to said friend as Sora grew more and more impatient, until Selphie announced that she had to leave. She hugged Sora goodbye and trudged through the sand, disappearing behind the campfire.

**Tuesday 00:00 – West Beach**

Sora was starting to forget about the incident with Kairi and began socializing with other people from the party. The drunkards had moved from the food to the ocean and were now swimming in frozen shores. The guitarist had joined them so a radio was turned on to replace him. It blared out a mixture of indie and retro music, which drowned out the sound of laughter, crackling of the fire and joyous screams from the swimmers.

A stranger began venting to Sora about starting a musical revolution, which made Sora nod politely and just hope he wouldn't ask Sora to join some sort of garage band. While the stranger rambled, Sora noticed out of the corner of his eye, that the silver haired guy from before was talking alone with Kairi. They seemed divided from the party. Their expressions didn't match the occasion. In fact, Sora noticed that Kairi was crying. Sora watched as Riku held her tight and said what he could only imagine were comforting words. Afterwards Kairi wiped away her tears, smiled and returned to the roaring party, leaving the silver haired teen by himself.

Sora wasn't sure why, but before he knew it he was standing next to the teen. He wasn't sure what to say or even why he was saying it but he just began asking about Kairi.

"Is Kairi ok?" he asked slowly, as he wasn't quite sure how to phrase the question.

"She's fine," Riku retorted, eyes glued to waves crashing near his feet.

"Why was she upset?"

"It's none of your business,"

Riku had a fair point. Sora mustered up an apology and stood in silence, watching the waves roaring in front of them.

"Want to know something weird?" Sora asked the silent and observant Riku.

"What?" Riku responded.

"Promise you won't laugh?"

"Sure," Riku sighed.

"I can't swim," Sora admitted. Riku cackled but stopped after noticing the serious expression written on Sora's face. He turned, still chuckling to himself, and pointed awkwardly towards the sea.

"So you can't swim at all? Not even in the shallows?" he asked, still grinning from Sora's ludicrous outburst.

"Pretty much," Sora replied, frowning at the water, which now splashed against his toes. It was ice-cold and made Sora twitch in surprise.

"Well... want me to teach you?" Riku offered.

"Right now?" Sora yelled.

"No dummy! Do you want hypothermia? How about tomorrow?"

"Sounds good!"

Riku grinned and offered his hand to be shook by the younger teen. Sora grasped it and wobbled it lightly.

"I'll be at the beach all day tomorrow. Come whenever you want," Riku informed him, replacing his hand the pocket of his jeans and turning to return to the party, "See you later, Sora"

"Um later," Sora responded, as he watched his new swimming coach return to the party of loud music, cackling teens, drunken entertainers and happy couples. Sora returned to the party, shortly after Riku, spending the majority of his time trying to understand the drunken gibberish which was being explained to him.

**Tuesday 01:30 – West Beach**

The party continued for many more hours after Sora's encounter with Riku, but Sora decided it would be best to take Kairi's offer of walking him back to the town. Sora was brutal with directions and the last thing he wanted was to get lost and end up sleeping in some greenery of sorts.

"Have fun tonight?" Kairi asked as she dug through her bag to find her mobile phone. She was triumphant in her task and flipped the phone open to check the time.

"Yeah! Thanks for inviting me," Sora retorted.

"I'm glad you came," Kairi added.

He was beginning to feel less miserable than before and allowed his mind to wander to different things, instead of the events earlier in the day. Kairi flipped her phone closed and placed it back in her bag. Kairi turned and wished some of her friends goodbye. She also whistled and waved to some in the distance.

"Let's go then," Kairi announced as she began trudging through the sand. Sora followed her closely and the sound of music and laughter began to fade with every step they took.

"Did you have fun?" Sora asked, as he helped Kairi over one of the large rocks that separated the beaches.

"It was fun! But we've had so many parties since summer began, that it's getting kind of boring!" she replied, jumping down from the rock and waiting for the spikey haired teen to join her. Sora leaped down, and they both began the trek back into town.

"I know what you mean," Sora agreed.

"I'd much rather spend my nights writing music," Kairi sighed, "but I guess I can't leave him alone"

"Tidus?" Sora questioned, with a slight strain as he wasn't sure whether it was appropriate for himself to get involved.

"Yeah. I know what you must be thinking, they are completely different people. I've got that lecture enough from my friends already," Kairi stated.

"That's not what I was thinking at all. I was thinking that you must care about him a lot to not let the differences matter," Sora informed the red-haired girl. It hurt but Sora spoke his mind. He found that the pain was easing away gradually, throughout the night. Kairi gaped at Sora. She wasn't sure how to respond to his statement.

"Thank you Sora!" she blurted out finally, "no one has ever put it like that before"

Sora masked his true feelings away from Kairi. It was for the best that he didn't explain how he felt about her. It would make Kairi uncomfortable and cause unwanted tension between them. Sora liked Kairi, not necessarily as a future girlfriend, but as a person. He put on a cheerful, upbeat smile, even though his insides were twisting and aching.

"You two make a nice couple," Sora stated, as the two began climbing up a mound of sand and tall grass "I hope I can be as happy as you two someday"

Sora felt the lump grow and grow in his throat. He held it back as hard as he could but eventually one tear escaped and began to stream down his face. He quickly and discreetly wiped it away.

"You will. I just know it!" Kairi informed the spikey haired brunette. Her words were like hot soup on a cold day, "you'll make somebody really happy someday"

There was a cool silence broken by the music pounding in the distance, the waves crashing nearby and the thudding of feet, booming on hard sand. Kairi reached out and grasped some of the tall grass and began twirling it around her finger.

"So I hear you can't swim! Are you for real?" Kairi chuckled as she spun the foliage around her index finger.

"What? Who told you that?" Sora moaned.

"Riku. He said 'you sure are one city-boy'!"

"I never had the chance to learn, and who else did he tell?" Sora asked, slightly pouting at the laughing teen.

"Everyone I think! I never met someone our age who couldn't swim,"

"Well Riku said he'd teach me tomorrow!" Sora argued back.

"Oh?"

Kairi grinned mischievously. Through away the foliage wrapped neatly around her finger, and turned to Sora.

"Wow! It took me almost a year to get more than three sentences out of that fool," Kairi stated, "and you just meet him tonight and get swimming lessons!"

"I guess, he must be shy around girls?" Sora offered his opinion.

"Ma-y-be," Kairi sing-songed, and begun to hum, a song which Sora had never heard of before. Her humming was accompanied by a sway of her shoulders for some form of dance.

"What are you humming?" Sora asked, after listening to the sweet melodic tune.

"It doesn't have a name yet! It's a song I wrote myself," Kairi detailed "I'll sing it for you sometime"

"I can't wait," Sora replied.

**Wednesday 12:30 – Holiday Villa**

Sora rose from his heavy sleep, at the later than usual, time of twelve thirty. As he strode around the villa looking for any sign of life he noticed a letter stuck on the kitchen fridge.

"I left early and won't be back till late tonight. Left some money on the kitchen counter for food. Take care, Mum" Sora read aloud, trying to imitate his mothers voice.

He balled the letter up and chucked it into the bin. Falling into an armchair, he recollected the events of the previous night. He thought about the incident with Kairi which still troubled him and the odd interaction with Selphie and her constant ranting. After recalling the night before, he shot off the armchair after remembering his lessons with the 'guy who called me city boy'. Sora dived into his wardrobe to find something new to wear. He couldn't wear shorts, two days in a row! But then again, what else can you wear when you go swimming?

Sora just took the chance and threw on a pair of black shorts and a plain tank top. He really wasn't the most fashionable teen in the world. After his transformation was complete, Sora grabbed the notes left by his mother, and headed out the door. Slamming it deafeningly to ensure it was locked. He then began another trek to town, in an effort to learn how to survive in a water filled environment.

**Wednesday 13:00 -**

Riku dove his hand into the water and allowed it to seep through his fingers. He was hunched over a rock pool, looking down at its inhabitants. The sun was blazing in the sky and the sky promised a day of no interruptions from clouds. The seabed reflected a powder blue color, with ripples of darker blue.

Riku began poking at a crab, which retaliated by trying to claw at Riku's finger. Riku smiled and continued to play with the creature until, someone poked him on the back. This act caused Riku to almost tumble into the rock pool. He leaped around defensively and was ready to growl at anyone who tried to interfere with his 'alone time'. He instantly froze in place when he noticed a smirking, chuckling Sora, standing in front of him.

"Having fun?" Sora teased.

"I was until you arrived," Riku responded. Brushing away some hair out of his eyes and turning to notice the crab had disappeared. He sighed.

"Ready for your first swimming lesson?" he asked, the brunette.

"Sure! Where do we start?"

"Well… um see that pier over there?" Riku pointed to a wooden structure, jutting out into the ocean. Sora nodded in response. "Well you'll be jumping off that by the end of today"

Sora leaped with terror. He waved his hands in the air in front of him, trying to swat away the thought of that idea.

"No way!" he yelled, "You must be insane!"

"Why not? It's not that deep?" Riku retorted.

"Do you want me to drown?" Sora screeched.

The two stood arguing for the first few minutes, and Sora felt himself regretting ever mentioning his inability to swim. Riku decided to leave the idea, as he noticed how terrifying it seemed to Sora.

"Let's just walk out to sea and take it from there," Riku suggested, directing Sora to the shoreline. Sora entered the water and let the waves splash against his toes, while Riku removed his top, revealing a very toned and built frame. Sora gawked as the silver-haired teen, allowed his long hair to drop and fall over his neck. Riku stood half naked at Sora, with a dazed look on his face.

"Well? You aren't going into the water like that, are you?" Riku asked.

"Um well no," Sora retorted.

"Here you can leave your top and whatever here, no one will take it," Riku advised placing his keys and phone among his balled up shirt. He then rolled down his jeans, wearing only blue tinted shorts. Sora gaped at the half naked man.

"How do you get muscles like that?" he enquired embarrassingly. Riku broke into a large cackle after hearing the question.

"What kind of question is that?" Riku chuckled.

"Um.. you just look… em never mind," Sora said going bright red, underneath the tank top which he was now removing him slim body. In comparison to Riku, Sora was much more tanned and much slimmer. Riku had broad shoulder, but thin hips. Bumps of muscles inched their way down his chest and his body curved out slightly towards his pelvis. Sora had broad shoulders, but nothing in comparison to Riku. He had a very slim waist and bony hips. His legs and arms had slight traces of muscle, but nothing like Riku's.

Sora threw his tank top and belongings down next to Riku's and stood with his arms folded, in an attempt to hide some of his body away.

"So… um.. can we start?"

_Well that's it for today more on the way in the next couple of days. I hope you enjoyed the slight amount of fan-service at the end of the chapter. Much more coming along soon enough! I hope you all enjoyed today's update _


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